Tourists boosted by Jacob's return

All-rounder Jacob Oram has missed all three one-day games with a side strain

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori hopes the return of all-rounder Jacob Oram will help his side leave England on a winning note.

The influential Central Districts man has not played in the NatWest Series due to a side-strain but should be fit for Wednesday’s clash at the Brit Oval after coming through a vigorous session on Monday.

“I think he’ll be fit to play,” said Vettori. “We will see how he scrubs up but I’m 99 per cent sure he’ll right to bowl and bat.”

After being outplayed at Durham, the tourists bounced back to level the series at Bristol, and might have been leading 2-1 were it not for the Edgbaston gloom.

The inclusion of Oram is a further boost as the Black Caps try to banish memories of their Test series defeat.

“He’s right up there, even with the guys like Kallis,” said Vettori.

“Flintoff comes into that category as well. Jacob was ranked number one all-rounder in the world in terms of one-day cricket.

"You throw that back into your side it makes for a great balance and also the confidence lift it brings too.

“The guys do have some confidence and getting one of the best one-day players in the world back in your side certainly makes a difference.”

Vettori picked out bowlers Tim Southee and Kyle Mills, two of the heroes from Saturday’s victory, when he recalled how his side levelled the series.

Rather than look at how England collapsed, Vettori insisted his side deserve praise for how they engineered the win.

“I like to concentrate more on the way we bowled,” he said. “We were on top of our game for the majority of it.

"For Tim Southee in his third game to step up and have a spell like that, and the way Kyle Mills led us right from the top, enabled us to put England in those pressure situations.

“If we can win this series it’ll be an even split between the Test matches and one-dayers like it was back at home.

"That’s probably indicative of where we are at with our cricket. We have two games to win but it would go a long way to redeeming the Test part of the tour.

“We are heading into the game feeling good but we also understand England will come pretty hard at us. We have a lot to work on if we want to keep up that momentum.”